Peanut Butter Brownie Caramelitas are the ULTIMATE ooey gooey brownie! They have a sweet caramel center, along with a layer of peanut butter morsels with more peanut butter drizzled on top. These start with my super popular Brownie recipe!
Peanut Butter Brownie Caramelitas
There is actually a scientific reason that people love the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. It’s called Dynamic Sensory Contrast. It has to do with our taste buds loving contrasting textures. But, I don’t need a scientific explanation as to why I love this combination so much. Then, with caramel added to the mix, it takes it to a whole new level. I would gladly continue researching this chocolate, peanut butter, and caramel combination any day! And, let me start with these Peanut Butter Brownie Caramelitas!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Butter: You need 2 sticks of unsalted butter for the brownies. Melt it, then let it cool.
Cocoa powder: Look for high-quality, unsweetened cocoa powder.
Peanut Butter Morsels: The peanut butter morsels are added to the top of the first layer of brownies. You will also add some peanut butter to the top of the brownies. You could use chocolate morsels if you want to replace the peanut butter.
Caramel Sauce: Use caramel bits OR individually wrapped caramels for the caramel sauce. Be sure to unwrap them. 😉 The amount would be the same, 11 ounces.
How to Make Peanut Butter Brownie Caramelitas
It all starts with the brownie recipe. You will bake the brownies in two stages. The first bake will be with the bottom brownie layer. Then, you will bake them again after adding the peanut butter morsels, caramel sauce, and second brownie layer.
Once you have the brownie batter ready, pour half (about 2 cups) of the batter into a prepared 9-inch square pan. (I recommend lining the pan with parchment paper, including up the sides, and spraying with nonstick cooking spray.)
Bake this layer for 10-12 minutes at 350°F. Meanwhile, prepare the caramel sauce by adding the caramel bits and milk into a medium saucepan, cooking over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla, stirring until everything is incorporated.
After you have removed the brownies from the oven the first time, cover the top with a layer of peanut butter morsels. Then, pour the caramel sauce over the morsels. Let the caramel sit for a few minutes at this point.
Carefully scoop and spread the remaining brownie batter on top of the caramel. This can be tricky… I usually just use my clean hands to set the batter on top. Don’t try to move it around too much, it could mess with the caramel layer. (Have no fear, it will come together as the brownies bake.)
Finally, drizzle peanut butter on top. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Let them cool a bit before transferring them to the refrigerator to chill for at least 4 hours.
Can I Make these in a 9×13-inch Baking Dish?
I don’t recommend attempting this recipe in a larger pan. There is not enough brownie mix for the two layers, which would mean the brownies would be too thin and not able to accommodate the filling.
Peanut Butter Brownie Caramelitas
Ingredients
Brownies
- 1 cup (2 sticks, 227g) butter, melted, then cooled
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup (79g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup peanut butter morsels
Caramel Sauce
- 1 bag (11 ounces or 1¾ cups) caramel bits
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (122.5g) milk
Topping
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
Instructions
Brownies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9×9-inch baking dish with parchment paper, including up the sides of the dish. Spray the paper with nonstick cooking spray.
- Melt butter in microwave and set aside to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder.
- In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the vanilla. Add the eggs and vanilla into the dry ingredients and gently stir.
- Pour the melted butter into the brownie mixture and mix until just incorporated.
- Spread ½ of the brownie batter (about 2 cups) into the prepared baking dish and bake for 10-12 minutes.
Caramel Sauce
- Place caramel bits in a medium saucepan and turn heat to medium-low. Add in milk and stir until all caramel bits are melted (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and add in vanilla, stirring until fully incorporated.
Assembling the Brownies
- When time is up, remove brownies from oven and cover with 1 cup of peanut butter morsels.
- Pour caramel sauce over peanut butter morsels. Let the caramel sit for about 5 minutes.
- Carefully spoon and spread the remaining two cups of brownie batter over the caramel sauce. (It will come together as it bakes.)
- In a microwave-safe bowl, warm up the peanut butter in 30-second intervals until creamy. Drizzle the peanut butter over the top layer of brownie batter.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until edges start to get a little dark.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool before placing the caramelitas in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
Did you make this recipe?
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These look heavenly! I absolutely love caramel. I’ll definitely try it out in the near future. ;;)
I actually made these and thought I would share my experience for anyone else considering hazarding a try at this sinful treat. I followed the recipe pretty much exactly, with a 9×9 inch pan, no substitutions, and baked at 350,, but I baked them longer than called for. The first layer I left in about 15-17 minutes. It was still reeeaally liquidy after the 10-12 called for, so I gave them a few more minutes until it had firmed up a bit.
The second layer on top of the caramel is trickier to spread than the first, but I find it’s not bad if you just put dollops all around and then the warm caramel underneath will make it easier to smooth out. Plus, once it’s in the oven, it’ll even out anyway.
The second round in the oven I found again was still very jiggly/not at all firm or crackly after 20 minutes. Usually my oven runs a bit hot and I pull stuff out early, but these seemed to need more time. I probably could have pulled them after 28-30 minutes, or whenever I noticed the top seemed firm to touch, but I left them in another few minutes since I couldn’t really tell if the edges had started to darken. Mine didn’t turn out looking quite as pretty with the caramel flowing out (I think some of it may have gotten more mixed in with the brownie layers, or perhaps it’s just because I baked them much longer) but they were still really fudgy and had caramel and peanut butter flavor. Perhaps if I had baked them somewhere between the recommended time and when I pulled them would have looked more like the picture.
By the way, just a warning to prep the pan underneath the parchment paper too. Whenever I make stuff with caramel, I always seem to get some that seeps around the parchment paper into the corner of the pan, and this time was no exception.
Definitely a tasty treat if you’re willing to splurge on some major calories! Thanks for sharing!
Have you ever doubled the recipe and put in a 9×11? I’m afraid a smaller pan will last for ten minutes.
I would definitely make this recipe as is and THEN attempt doubling it if that is what you want. 🙂
I wonder if you can omit the peanut butter or replace with chocolate?
hello! I have a few questions, can I use a salted caramel recipe in place of the Kraft caramels? also I’d worry the caramel would maybe burn, would it be such a bad idea to bake the top layer of brownie on it’s own and just stick on top of the peanut butter and caramel while it’s still warm and just let it cool like that? just a thought, I’m new to the homemade caramel thing so I need as much tips as I can get lol, thanks for your time!
This is a giant mess. How are you supposed to put gooey brownie batter on top of liquid caramel? Plus a 9 inch square pan is way too small to hold the ingredients. I have caramel dripping all over my oven (yes, I’ve lined it because I knew this would happen). After the listed cooking time I’m starting to smell burnt caramel, yet the center of the brownie is still completely liquid. I have been baking for a long time and I’m really disappointed with this.
Hi Natasha- I am so sorry that you are having issues. The brownie batter should go over the caramel easily, not sure how that is a problem. And yes, if the caramel is not covered entirely there may be edges and bits that get done faster than the center. If you cooked the bottom layer first then it should definitely not be liquid still. Can you tell me how I can re-word the directions so that this would work better for you in the future?
I ended up using a 9×13 pan. A thin layer of batter, bake about 5 minutes until just set. I used a thicker caramel layer that I used for a previous recipe, layered according to your recipe. I spread the remaining batter with a small cookie scoop, dipped in ice water after every scoop, and carefully spread it over the caramel layer. I baked it about 20 minutes, checking with a toothpick after 15. It turned out really great, everybody loved it. I really like the idea of there brownies, I just had to get those right.
These look super delicious!! That caramel layer – yumm!!
What did I do wrong? The caramel absorbed into the brownies. I did not have a yummy river of melty caramel. 🙁
Still tasty but not what I was hoping for.
Did you use the peanut butter chips? Was the brownie cooked for the recommended time before you put the peanut butter chips on it? Did you use all of the caramel?
Yes, Yes, and Every last bit I could scrap out of that dang pot. Do people not use all the caramel? Who are these people and why are they allowed to bake?
By the by, everyone enjoyed them, so taste wasn’t an issue. One thing I did have to do was heat the brownie batter a bit before adding it to the pan – for bottom – and top, otherwise it was simply too thick to spread. More like a really sticky dough than batter.
Best brownies I ever made. I was feared and revered the day I brought these in to the office. Not only is the caramel and peanut butter the best addition to a brownie you could ever imagine, but the brownie recipe all by itself is amazing!
YAY!!! I am so so so glad you enjoyed them!!
OK I just made these for the 2nd time. Both times I doubled the recipe and used a 9×13 pan. This definitely increases the baking time….by quite a bit more than I thought it would. Lots of monitoring required and continued poking with a wooden skewer to check progress. But as long as you don’t let them over bake it works out fine. The first time I prepared the pan but didn’t use parchment paper. Big mistake. USE THE PARCHMENT PAPER. They are cooling in the pan right now, and checking them, the paper seems to be pulling away nicely and did its job. I said it before, but let me say it again….these are the best brownies I have ever made!